The IU softball team is back to .500 this weekend after a 3-1 series win against Ohio State.
The Hoosiers won the first game 4-1. Freshman catcher Grace Lorsung, senior second baseman Grayson Radcliffe, senior catcher Bella Norton and freshman shortstop Brooke Benson all hit one-run RBIs. Senior pitcher Emily Goodin recorded her 500th career strikeout over 516 total innings pitched with the IU program.
“She had 22 strikeouts in 21 innings,” head coach Shonda Stanton said about Goodin. “That’s the difference maker. That’s what keeps you in the game.”
The Hoosiers split the doubleheader Saturday. The second game of the series was decided by a mercy rule as the bats carried the team with 13 hits to make it 8-0. Senior left fielder Gabbi Jenkins was a crucial part of the offensive weaponry, with two RBI doubles during the bottom of the second and the fourth, along with the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the fifth.
Senior center fielder Taylor Lambert had two RBI singles, and Lorsung had one RBI single. Despite losing the third game, the Hoosiers fought hard throughout the eight innings, scoring nine total runs to the Buckeyes' 10.
Vice President and Director of Intercollegiate Athletics Scott Dolson presented Jenkins the “Hoosier Golden Shoe Award” for breaking the career stolen bases record with 91 career stolen bases on Friday, April 9, at Bittinger Stadium during the team’s series against Purdue.
Goodin shut out the Buckeyes with six strikeouts in seven innings. Radcliffe had two RBIs in the game alongside a Bella Norton RBI single.
The Hoosiers will take on the Fighting Illini of Illinois at 6 p.m. Friday at Eichelberger Field in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois.
